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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 09/20/2016 CITY COUNCIL MEETING Port Angeles, Washington September 20, 2016 CALL TO ORDER SPECIAL MEETING: Mayor Downie called the special meeting of the Port Angeles City Council to order at 5:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present:Mayor Downie,Deputy Mayor Kidd,Councilmembers Gase,Merideth and Whetham. Members Absent: Councilmember Bruch and Collins. Staff Present: Acting City Manager West,Attorney Bloor,Clerk Veneklasen,and C. Fulton. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Based on input from Attorney Bloor,Mayor Downie announced the need for an Executive Session,under the authority of RCW 42.30.110(1)(i) for the purpose of discussing potential litigation with legal counsel, for approximately 50 minutes.The Executive Session convened at 5:01 p.m. RETURN TO OPEN SESSION: The Executive Session concluded at 5:54 p.m.No action was taken. CALL TO ORDER-REGULAR MEETING: Mayor Downie called the regular meeting of the Port Angeles City Council to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present:Mayor Downie,Deputy Mayor Kidd,Councilmembers Collins, Gase,Merideth and Whetham. Members Absent: Councilmember Bruch. Staff Present: Acting City Manager West, Attorney Bloor, Clerk Veneklasen, C. Delikat, K. Dubuc, C. Fulton, B. Smith,and G. Goodworth. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Councilmember Whetham led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. CEREMONIAL MATTERS, PROCLAMATIONS & EMPLOYEE RECOGNITIONS 1. Constitution Week Proclamation Mayor Downie read a proclamation in recognition of Constitution Week, September 17-23, saying that the Constitution of the United States of America embodies the principles of limited government in a Republic dedicated to rule by law; and that this year marks the 229"anniversary of its framing. Joyce Stroeher of the Daughters of the American Revolution accepted the proclamation. PUBLIC COMMENT: Clerk Veneklasen introduced the new electronic timer for use during public comment. She said the timer's purpose is primarily to assist speakers and to ensure a fair and equitable allocation of time to all citizens. The Mayor reminded the audience that the first opportunity to speak during public comment will be given to City residents and business owners. Rick Goette, 536 South Bagley Creek Road, owner of New Moon Craft Tavern, spoke about the curb outside his business being painted red and the parking spaces that were lost as a result. He said his business was negatively affected and that he was given no notice or communication prior to the painting. PORT ANGELES CITY COUNCIL MEETING—September 20, 2016 Peggy Goette, 536 South Bagley Creek Road, co-owner of New Moon Craft Tavern,read a letter from Troy Mann, owner of Fitness West at 114 South Lincoln Street, expressing his concerns about the loss of parking in front of his business. Anne Dalton, 1037 Grant Avenue, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center board member, thanked Council for a grant that helped fund the Paint the Peninsula event. She spoke about the success of the event and the variety of people who attended. David Maybrey, 1014 Georgianna Street, said protest signs should not be allowed in the Chambers as a matter of respect. He encouraged compromise among Council. Mike Libera,316 Powerplant Road,patron of New Moon Tavern, spoke against the City painting a curb red with no notice to business owners. He suggested making Second Street a one-way street. Scott Kennedy, 136 Old Black Diamond Road, spoke in favor of fluoridating the community's water supply. He requested Council inform the public of increase risk of cavities now that the water was not fluoridated. LATE ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON THIS OR FUTURE AGENDAS as determined by City Manager or Councilmember- At the request of Councilmembers Whetham,the Mayor added a discussion on Lincoln Street Parking as item I-1. Councilmember Collins requested that Dr. Marc Jackson, superintendent of the Port Angeles School District, be scheduled to speak at a future meeting regarding a dental crisis assessment and referral program recommended by the Fluoride Ad Hoc Committee. At the request of Councilmember Gase,the Mayor added a discussion on a Council Quarterly Charity as item I-5. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. Medic 1 Ambulance Transport Rate Adjustment Fire Chief Ken Dubuc said the Fire Department had not received any comments since the ordinance's first reading held at the Council meeting on September 6'. Mayor Downie opened the public hearing at 6:37 p.m. Dale Wilson, Fourth Avenue, spoke in favor of the rate adjustment and spoke about its advantages. He asked for unanimous approval by Council. There being no further public comment,Mayor Downie closed the public hearing at 6:39 p.m. Mayor Downie conducted a second reading of the ordinance by title, entitled, ORDINANCE NO.3557 AN ORDINANCE of the City of Port Angeles, Washington,revising Chapter 3.70 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code relating to Medic I charges. It was moved by Gase and seconded by Merideth to: Approve the ordinance as read. Motion carried 6-0. CONSENT AGENDA: At the request of Acting Manager West,Mayor Downie pulled the 2016 2017 Urban Forestry Restoration Cooperative Agreement item from the Consent Agenda. Page 2 of 5 PORT ANGELES CITY COUNCIL MEETING—September 20, 2016 It was moved by Gase and seconded by Kidd to approve the Consent Agenda to include: 1. City Council Minutes: September 6, 2016 2. Expenditure Report:From August 27, 2016 to September 9, 2016 in the amount of$3,701,429.08 3. 2016 Sanitary Sewer and Stormdrain Cleaning and Video Inspection,Contract SVC-2016-23 4. Annual Support Agreement for PenCom CAD System 5. 2014 WSDOT Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Grant—TR 01-04/Grant Acceptance Motion carried 6-0. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: 1. Lincoln Street Parking Acting Manager West apologized to the businesses that were impacted by the recent curb paintings. He said staff recognize that there were some missteps and that there is more work to do in this location with neighborhood residents and businesses. Public Works&Utilities Director Fulton explained the situation, saying there were concerns raised about the intersection, particularly with visibility for cars moving from Second Street onto Lincoln Street. He said staff did a sight line engineering analysis and researched the intersection finding that from 1997 to 2016 there had been 25 accidents.The Traffic Safety Committee determined 3 parking spots should be eliminated. Director Fulton acknowledged that Public Works did not execute the original curb painting with a good communication plan for the two businesses. He said he has since directed that 2 of the 3 spots be painted back white for parking while the City works with residents and businesses on what action is needed to resolve any safety issues at the intersection. Council discussion followed. Acting Manager West said that staff would bring Council a report to its October 4' meeting with details on current policy regarding curb markings and the workings of the Traffic Safety Committee. 2. Notice to Water Utility Customers Acting Manager West said the memo follows up on the Council appointment of Councilmembers Bruch and Gase to a subcommittee tasked with drafting a notification to citizens about the removal of fluoride from the City's water supply.He said that the draft statement is provided in the memo and that Council should decide if it wants to distribute the statement,and if so,by what means. Council discussion followed. The Mayor polled Council on their distribution preferences for communicating the message. It was moved by Gase and seconded by Merideth to: Approve distribution of the statement as presented and opt for distribution options 1 and 2 at no cost. Councilmember Whetham asked the motion be amended to encourage Clallam PUD to promote a similar message. The maker of the motion and the seconder accepted the amendment. The motion passed as amended,6-0. 3. Engagement Letters from Foster Pepper and Cascadia Law Attorney Bloor said the engagement letters have to do with representation by specialized environmental attorneys in connection with the Harbor Cleanup.He said that over the past 4 years the City has been represented by two attorneys, Rod Brown and Kurt Peterson,who have divided tasks between themselves. Recently Kurt Peterson moved to a new law firm,but in spite of the move both attorneys have agreed to continue representing the City with the same separation of responsibilities as in the past. Attorney Bloor said there are no increase in fees or scope of work;the letters simply acknowledge the change in the firm for which Kurt Peterson now works. Council discussion followed. It was moved by Collins and seconded by Whetham to: Authorize the City Manager to enter into the attached engagement letters with Cascadia Law and Foster Pepper and to make minor modifications to the agreements,if necessary. Motion carried 6-0. Mayor Downie recessed the meeting for a break at 7:20 p.m.The meeting reconvened at 7:26 p.m. Page 3 of 5 PORT ANGELES CITY COUNCIL MEETING—September 20, 2016 4. Vertigo Marketing Lynnette Braillard and Trev Naranche of Vertigo Marketing conducted a presentation on their company's marketing efforts on behalf of Port Angeles.Mr.Naranche outlined room tax revenue numbers,which he said were up 24%,and said that Vertigo's 2016 ad campaign will reach more than 22 million impressions this year compared to roughly 2 million last year. Ms. Braillard presented samples of print advertising. She showed Council the visitportangeles.org website,which she said was a brand new destination website created as part of the 2016 marketing contract with the City. Council discussion followed. 5. PA Council Quarterly Charity Councilmember Gase spoke about his proposal to create a Port Angeles City Council Quarterly charity,with the first recipient to be Captain Joseph House. Council discussion followed. CONTRACTS & PURCHASING 1. Downtown Sidewalk&Tree Well Repair,Project PK13-031 Parks&Recreation Director Delikat said the project was approved in the 2016 Capital Facilities Plan and budget,and that the project entails fixing sidewalks and sinking treewells along Downtown,mainly the south side of First Street. He said the project will be funded by Real Estate Excise Tax and that construction is slated for mid-October. Council discussion followed. It was moved by Kidd and seconded by Gase to: Award and authorize the City Manager to sign a contract for the Downtown Sidewalk&Tree Repair,Project TR01- 16,with Interwest Construction of Burlington,Wash.,in the total amount of$119,490.00 including applicable taxes, and to make minor modifications to the contract as necessary. Motion carried 6-0. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS: Councilmember Collins said he had just returned from the State Transit Conference in Wenatchee as a representative for Clallam Transit.He also went to the State Planning Director's Conference in Chelan,Washington. Councilmember Whetham said that he was disappointed that there was no information in the packet about Shane Park.He said when he drives by the park it looks like the surface has been repaired and the chain and lock removed. He thanked staff for the surface restoration and asked the public be given an update about the tennis court. Councilmember Gase attended the Esquimalt RibFest as a Port Angeles representative. He also attended the demonstration of Civic Field Lighting and an event for the PA Lefties Baseball Team.He said he is excited about the new team which will start in June. Deputy Mayor Kidd said that there are a lot of good things happening in Port Angeles and that the upcoming weekend was Arts&Draughts and The Big Hurt. She also said that on February 2,due to the illness of the Mayor, she conducted a meeting as Chair. She said that she led that meeting to the best of her ability,that she respects all members of the City Council,and that she has learned from the experience. Deputy Mayor Kidd said she will do her best to show courtesy and respect and that she will continue to work hard for the City. Councilmember Merideth complimented the new LED lighting at Civic Field. He said his son's coach Gabe Rygaard recently passed away, and that the team played Saturday in his honor.He asked that everyone take a few minutes to think about their own personal safety and don't take it for granted. Mayor Downie reported that he was a judge at the Esquimalt RibFest. He noted that Esquimalt will be the site for one of Canada's long term sewer treatment plants,with construction beginning around January 2017. He also attended the recent Civic Field Lighting demonstration.The Mayor encouraged Council to pursue future joint meetings with the Port of Port Angeles and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. INFORMATION: Police Chief Brian Smith updated Council on the Police Department's work Downtown on panhandling and associated issues. He said the PAPD has increased foot patrols and outreach activities with businesses. Page 4 of 5 PORT ANGELES CITY COUNCIL MEETING—September 20, 2016 Director Fulton updated Council on the recent Stage 2 Water Shortage Declaration saying that it was a voluntary, interim step and that he does not anticipate needing to go to Stage 3. Acting Manager West followed up on items from the meeting, saying staff would: 1. Provide policy details regarding curb markings and the traffic safety committee 2. Look into the logistics and legal review of the idea for a quarterly Council charity 3. Follow through on prior Council direction to schedule joint meetings with the Port of Port Angeles and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. It was moved by Kidd and seconded by Collins to: Excuse Councilmember Bruch from the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT: Muazzez Eren, 110 East Thirteenth Street,spoke about traffic and pedestrian safety concerns along Lincoln Street and suggested the speed limit be reduced. David Maybrey, 1014 Georgianna, suggested if Council sponsored a quarterly charity, they should invite someone from the charity to speak,and also have the donation box in foyer so that utility customers can see it.He further spoke about a newly installed stop sign on Georgianna Street. Melissa Williams,315 North Lincoln,director of Feiro Marine Life Center, spoke about Downtown parking lots that are underused because they are perceived as unsafe. ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Downie adjourned the meeting at 8:43 p.m. Patrick Downie,Mayor Jennifer Veneklasen, City Clerk Page 5 of 5